Runaway Train

Escapetales in Bussum (30 km southeast of Amsterdam, easily accessible via the nearby Naarden-Bussum railway station) operates two 60-minute escape rooms, MAKESHIFT MORGUE (new) and RUNAWAY TRAIN, each of which can be played by 2-5 people.

We chose the latter scenario, which is based on the film of the same name.

The owner, who was also our GM, gave us a warm welcome and briefly introduced us to the Crime Story. We were hired as an expert team to investigate a train accident. Therefore we squeeze into white overalls (unfortunately too small for two of us) before we are allowed to enter the scene of the accident.

Inside the train we find a really well done setting, which shows us the whole extent of the accident and lets us dive into the story immediately.

Runaway Train scores above all with its realistic ambience. However, as the amount of space in a train is very limited, this game is especially suitable for smaller groups of 2-3 people. In our constellation – we played as team of five – the train was definitely overcrowded. Only with the (for my taste too numerous) search actions more eyes were helpful of course, but otherwise it led with the puzzles for some of us sometimes to dry spells where one could unfortunately only watch idly.

The puzzles were not all convincing for me, even though they fit into the room and story quite neatly.

But what really frustrated us was the ending. We were about to successfully complete our mission when the GM opens the door with the words “Sorry, you didn’t make it” and ends the game abruptly. Five disappointed faces look at him. “Would you like to finish the game? Nod your head. The door closes again. 2 seconds later, “push the button”, fanfare ?, confetti ? – really?

It should also be mentioned that there is a short video analysis after the game. A nice service to recapitulate the experience.
Since you sometimes work at different places in the train, it’s interesting to see what the others have done in the meantime.